August 07, 2010

Feudal Rulers Get Deferential Bow From Victor

It seems that when you beat a "prince" fair and square you still have to say "sorry".

After winning a court case in which the behaviour of a British "prince" and a Qatari "emir" featured prominently in his evidence, property developer Christian Candy has apologised to both.

In the course of negotiating a financial settlement after the court ruled in his favour, the developer has expressed regret at bringing Charles Windsorís name into the case and "apologised unreservedly" for "any offence this may have caused". He also apologised to Sheikh Hamad bin Khanfa al-Thani of Quatar.

The terms of the settlement are sealed and it is not known how much compensation was paid to Mr. Candy. But it does seem that while the legal process may have won him justice, two feudal rulers were still able to insist on an absurd act of deference.

British Queen Imposes Title on Reluctant New Zealanders

The queen of England has decided that the prime minister of New Zealand is the "right honourable" John Kay. He has no wish to be "right honourable" but the British queen says he is, and so he is.

Until 2000 the "right honourable" prefix was used in New Zealand for members of the Privy Council of Britain. In that year the country stopped appointing its citizens to the Council. But Buckingham Palace has now announced that New Zealandís prime minister, chief justice and governor-general will all be know as "right honourable".

John Holden, who chairs the New Zealand Republican Movement, commented " We can only guess at what the palace's motivation is. It looks like it's a bizarre attempt to make the monarchy relevant to New Zealanders. Unfortunately, like the Prime Minister, most New Zealanders don't care for pompous titles. Buckingham Palace should have respected our Prime Minister's decision not to award the title".